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Month: January 2012

Would you believe me if I told you it came from a basket? During the great Roman Empire there were many areas needing administration. Thousands of miles of roads were built to reach Roman cities and outposts. Along these great stretches of road, treasure was transported in sealed baskets that were called fisci from which the word fiscal has come.

Suellen Ocean is the author of the historical series, The Lion’s Trace Available here:

Saladin was the son of a Kurdish military man who was Governor of Damascus, Saladin fought for control of Egypt against the Christians who aided Egypt. Saladin eventually became the Sultan of both Egypt and Syria. Saladin conquered Jerusalem in 1187 from the Christians who through the Crusade had gained control. History remembers Saladin as having many admirable qualities, including honor, devotion, kindness and a reputation as “the ideal knight”.

Suellen Ocean is the author of the historical series, The Lion’s Trace Available here:

Judging by the picture of ruins of a 2000-year-old citadel, ancient Syria was gorgeous. And sounds like Syria still possess much beauty along its coast. Imagine Mediterranean blue skies, date palms and orchards of grapes, oranges, lemons and olives and a history of silk production. Syria’s territory has shifted through the ages. Ancient Syria was the coastal area of the Eastern Mediterranean situated between Egypt and the Taurus mountains. Turkey controlled it during WWI until the British and Arab military took it, then France occupied it completely by 1920. Then Turkey was given back the northernmost part. The Syrians were some of the world’s earliest Christians but after Moslem acquisition, embraced Islam.

Suellen Ocean is the author of the historic novel The Celtic Prince Available here:

Sometimes we think the Ark of the Covenant is the same as the Holy Grail. It isn’t. The phrase gets thrown around often and is probably used incorrectly. The Holy Grail is the cup that caught the last drops of Jesus’ blood. There is a tradition that in Glastonbury England, a man named Joseph of Arimathea went to Glastonbury in 47 A.D. bringing with him the cherished cup. The cup became lost and searching for it became a great pastime for King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

Suellen Ocean is the author of the historic novel The Celtic Prince Available here:

Asia Minor and Anatolia are the same designation. It is the peninsula between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean and comprises the largest part of Turkey. Scholars believe Ancient Germans migrated from Northern Europe to Anatolia, assimilated with pre-Hittite tribes then later fought for territories in Egypt, Babylonia, Palestine, Syria, etc. Relations between the different tribes created early genetic diversity.

Suellen Ocean is the author of the historic novel The Celtic Prince Available here:

Who got rid of Harems? Was it the men’s idea? As in “Ya know, I think I have too many women?” And how did the women like being in a harem? Did it lead to today’s beauty competitions or were the women of a harem warm, compassionate and sisterly toward one another? In the bible you always hear of “favorite wives.” How well did that play in the politics of the group? Just wondering.

Suellen Ocean is the author of the historic novel The Celtic Prince Available here:

It’s been going on for thousands of years, this habit we have of choosing stereotypical gifts for men and women. Viking women had pretty brooches and ornaments for their hair. Johannes Lehmann, author of The Hittites states:

“Obsidian mirrors associated with female burials were found mainly in cult-rooms, for instance, and male grave-gifts of polished bone belt-fasteners exclusively in shrines.”

This just struck a chord with me. It’s not the stereotypicalness of this that amazes me but how it made me feel. It rang of gift giving and brought about that feeling that repeats itself again and again in my life – men are hard to buy small token gifts for. When I saw that “bone belt-fastener” I could picture myself in a department store cringing at the cliché gifts for men but here it was 7,000-8,000 years ago. Some things never change.

And in all honesty, I could use a little mirror for my purse, I don’t wear a belt but my husband does and he would never carry a mirror in his wallet.

Suellen Ocean is the author of the historical series, The Lion’s Trace Available here: